Star Gate Universe

So I got around to watching Star Gate Universe recently. It's not that bad. But, it does contain some of the problems that SG1 so often managed to avoid. For example, one of the things that made SG1 so great was that if there was a simple solution to the problem you could expect one of the characters (O'Neill) to at least mention this solution. In Star Gate Universe they find these little remote piloted flying camera dealies they find a problem that must be solved by remotely pushing a couple of buttons. And they immediately conclude that the only viable solution is to send someone in on a suicide mission to manually push the buttons. They do this because they need to kill off a character that could have died minutes ago and so they can establish the similarities with the new Battlestar Galactica that have already been clearly established by lighting, directing and camera use. In short, it's just stupid.

That was just the most prominent use of random stupidity to accomplish dramatic tension that quite frankly doesn't need to exist. Like in the beginning they load a problem into a video game, why? So they can have a regular geek dude on hand to help suck random geeks into the show. That was not at all patronizing guys thanks. I did not at all feel like abandoning the show just out of principle at that point at all. This is extra bad because they could have worked around it just fine. They could have had a recent college grad get a job for some firm that the Air Force subcontracts Ancient device maintenance/reverse engineering/ whatever out to and had the new guy out there for orientation. It would help to be on an alien planet at least once, make it real for them. Then be stuck out there like the rest of them, with the advantage of having a few weeks of studying the ancient language and there useful character without as lame a backstory.

They fail to dial out the first try. That's fine, they do dial out, while under fire, and proceed to run in without checking if there is even air on the other side. One character even shouts "It can't be worse than here" before they charge through. In SG1 if they did that there would be a black hole on the other side. Or a planet that is completely uninhabitable, or has no DHD, or a thousand other fates that are either worse or just as bad.

Don't get me wrong here. It was not at all bad TV, I'm just sick of supposedly smart characters doing completely mindless things. Or finding remarkably difficult solutions to easy problems. I don't like unneeded explosions that only serve to make the story more 'splody without adding to the feel in any way. I don't like writers who slack off with the logic. Sure most of the reasons for most of the characters actions made some sense. With only a little more effort however you could have much better reasons for those same actions. Then you go from a merely decent story to a great one. Without improving the effects budget. If you feel the desperate need to have better fx to tell your tale. You are doing it wrong. The effects being better should add to the goodness not compensate for the badness.